-- UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS -- For Immediate removal from this newsletter list, just click on the unsub link at the bottom of this page. If you can't get the unsub link to work, log into your account here: http://www.tias.com/mytias and select "view/change subscriptions".

-- HOW TO SUBSCRIBE -- If someone forwarded this newsletter to you or you found it in our online archive, you can get an email subscription to this newsletter at: http://www.tias.com/subscribe/

2. We're always adding new items to our current Pinterest boards. We have 177 boards dedicated to antiques and collectibles so you might want to stop by to check them out. Here is the link to our Pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/TIASAntiques/boards/ Feel free to stop by and check out all of our boards and while you're there, please "follow" us!

Do you like vintage or antique jewelry? We've got separate Pinterest boards for gemstones like diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies etc. but we've also got boards for brooches, lockets, rings, trifari, bakelite and an all-inclusive jewelry board. The beauty of some of these items is just exquisite. Here is a sampling of some of those boards, but feel free to check out our pinterest page for even more!

3. This Week's Stories
Every week we post stories and comments from our readers. Send your story to phil@Bignews.biz and I'll publish it in an upcoming newsletter. Did you know that you don't have to have a facebook account to use the links to see the various photos that we mention below? Just copy and paste the link into your browser. However, if you do have a facebook account please "Like" us!

We have this little tidbit that we thought we would share with you. Sue, our wonderful Customer Service Manager (who we couldn't live without!) received a question from a customer who lives very far away. The customer (Helen) who sent in the question lives in a city called....Tias!! It is in the Canary Islands, on an island called Lanzarote. We wrote to Helen and asked her if she could tell us a little bit about Tias (the city). Helen was kind enough to send us the following:

"Hi, good morning!! Yes I'd love to give you a little information and please use whatever you think maybe of interest.
Our location is in a small town more or less in the centre of the beautiful volcanic island of Lanzarote, Isla de Canarias. They are situated in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Africa, 70 miles from the Sahara Desert. The island is approx. 30 by 12 miles. The town dates back to 1493, it is one of the oldest towns and overlooks the main tourist centre of Puerto del Carmen. The town was given the name "Tias" by Alonso Farjado, the then Governor of Gran Canaria, after his two favourite tias- (Aunts in Spanish!) After the volcanic eruptions 1730-1736, which affected neighbouring areas, many people made Tias their home. During the 1970´s when the tourist boom began, British and German ex-pats, not wanting to live amongst the tourists chose Tias. It is a beautiful town, white-washed villas and apartments. Many independent shops, a large Town Hall, lovely theatre etc. Lanzarote is famous for its temperate all year round climate and thanks to a local, but famous architect, Cesar Manrique, no building, hotels, office blocks etc. reach more than three stories high. (except for one hotel in the Capitol, Arrecife which was built before his time!) so as not to blight the beautiful natural scenery of the island.
We, like Spain, have been badly affected by the economic crisis, but am pleased to say the there are signs of green shoots popping up, so having lived here for 30 years, when my daughter and I decided to open a Shabby Chic Vintage Home Decor shop called "Absolutely Fabuloso"- Tias was our natural choice. Once again, best wishes, Yours sincerely, Helen C."
Thank you, Helen, for telling us all about Tias, it sounds like an incredible and beautiful place to live!
----------------

Editor's note -- We have been told that some of your emails have not been getting through to me over the past few weeks. If you have not heard back from us after sending an email, please resend your email to phil@bignews.biz .

Also, check out our facebook page for some interesting updates. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/TIASAntiques If you have photos of items you would like to share you can post them there as well.
--------------

For next week's issue, A person or a place can influence you strongly. Sometimes you can feel the memories coming through various items. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever purchased an item for the memories you felt it contained? Tell us about it. Send an email with your response to Phil@BigNews.biz Your feedback helps us to keep the newsletter interesting :)

And thanks to those of you who have been responding! We really enjoy, and appreciate, the feedback!
---------

In response to last week's question which asked about a time when you stumbled upon something (valuable, or just interesting) in an unusual place, we received the following responses:

"My husband and his dad built one of our homes and years later when my son bought it from us and decided to do some remodeling, he got quite a chuckle when he tore into a wall and discovered a cigar stubb. This had to be from his grandfather who was a cigar smoker (& had passed away a decade ago). It now “resides” on our what-not shelf. The Fraleys from Katy, TX"

"When we moved into our home outside of North Bend, WA, the former owners had left their rosewood piano and requested we keep it until they could find someone to move it. Since my husband had to return to Phoenix to take our piano out of storage we agreed. The movers were over a few days before my husband returned. Upon moving the piano, I discovered a Drewerys Ale Beer advertisement. A RC Mountie and another man are in a canoe with a crate of Drewerys Ale in the canoe. The swift-moving river is in the mountains with pine trees. This was done at Coshocton, Ohio by American Art Works, Inc. The original painting was done by Hy Hintermeister. I know the trays are worth about $75.00, but I have never found the worth of this painting on tin. They were done to hang in taverns or where ale was sold. Marilyn C."

"Hi Phil, back in the late 80's my husband and I bought a 90 year old house. The previous owner was a "collector" and amassed a collection garbage but also some nice things. One day, before we bought the house, we went over to look in the basement. It was so crowded that we couldn't even walk around. My husband stood on the staircase with a flashlight and was shining it around. Off in the corner of the basement he saw, what looked like, a carved lion's head. He figured it was probably on a piece of furniture. The owner then remembered that there was a china cabinet down there and that maybe it was the cabinet. My husband tried to get over to it but he couldn't get close enough to see it. He was able to crouch down and look along the floor. It was then that he saw a claw foot. He figured it was probably the china cabinet and asked her what she was going to do with it. She said if we gave her $200.00, we could have it. We agreed and once the basement was cleared out we finally got to see this old tiger oak china cabinet, filled with very old cans of food. There were cans of tomatoes that had rotted through the tin and leaked everywhere but worst of all, there was a can of molasses that dripped down the entire interior of the cabinet and stuck to all of the shelves. The oak was almost black and the shelves were destroyed but the outer glass was all in great condition as was the door. My husband and I didn't have kids yet so we made this cabinet our baby and slowly and lovingly restored it. I've enclosed some photos of how it looks now, after we had glass shelves made for it. And that was our "stumbled upon" item ." Leslie R." We've posted three photos of Leslie's china cabinet on our facebook page here: http://on.fb.me/13UehxX

"I didn't really "stumble" upon this, but I did trip over it. I was at a flea market, just browsing from table to table. As I began to walk away from one table I tripped over a box that was sticking out from underneath the table. The man who was standing behind the table seemed frustrated, not at me, but at the box that he told me, was always in the way. I looked inside the box to see it was filled with various RS Prussia pieces. I asked him what he wanted for the box and he said $25.00 because some of the pieces were broken. I happened to be a collector and gladly paid the $25.00. When I got home, I discovered that he was correct, many of the pieces were broken, but way at the bottom, under a towel that had been "protecting" the other pieces, was an unscathed piece of cobalt prussia! Carol B."

If you have an opinion, or a story, in reference to any of the above topic, or any of our recent topics, we'd love to hear from you! Please send it to: Phil@BigNews.biz and maybe we will run it in an upcoming newsletter.
----
A request for identification:
"This small ceramic garage measures 4"X3-1/2" X about 3" tall. As you can see it says "For Overnight Parking". I thought it might be a cigarette holder but don't know. Also does anyone know the mark? B. Murphy" you can see photos of this item here: http://on.fb.me/1dwXgku
-------
Another request for identification:
"This little cup stands about 3 1/2" high and is 1 1/2" wide. It has a different scene on each "panel". I have no idea where we got it from as I found it in a box in my basement. I think it might be pewter, but I'm not even sure. Do you think any of your readers might have some information about it? Thank you, Dorothy" You can see 14 photos of Dorothy's cup here: http://on.fb.me/176rWEd

Do you have an item in your collection that you need help identifying or just would like to share with our readers? Drop me an email with a photo attached and we'll include it in our newsletter and on our Facebook page. Send them to me at phil@Bignews.biz
-----

We have even more interesting items that need to be identified. They will be posted in our next newsletter and on facebook within the upcoming weeks.
---------------------

4. This week's Antique News

If you want to tell the world about your antiques & collectibles business, auction, club or upcoming event related to the antiques and collectibles trade, you can post it for free at http://www.News-Antique.com the #1 listing on Google for "Antique News" Your news release will get published online and will also appear in this newsletter so that 16,000 people can read it. To post a release, go to http://www.News-Antique.com

Do you have antiques or collectibles you are just itching to sell? A simple classified ad in this newsletter might just be your answer. Over 16,000 readers subscribe to this newsletter. One of them just might be able to help you out. Place your ad today at: http://tinyurl.com/39eulu

7. Funny stories
"Hi. My son was an avid fisherman at the age of 3. He would stand in the boatlanding fishing with an antique bamboo rod 4 times taller than himself. One hot evening, a hellgrammite landed on the screen door. My father told my son it made excellent bait for fishing. The hellgrammite was placed in a jar and set on the shelf. After a day I got tired of looking at this strange bug/insect so I threw it away. My son came into the room and asked where is the hellgrammite? I told him it went to heaven. My son's reply, "the jar too?" Sincerely, Barbara"

Do you have a funny family story you would like to share? These stories can bring a smile to someone's face and in this day and age, can't we all use a smile? Make someone feel good by sharing it with us. Send it to phil@bignews.biz and we may publish it here.
-------------

Last week Jordan asked: "Hi, After reading about the person who had lots of lemon trees growing in their yard, it reminded me of my childhood. I grew up in California and always looked forward to the apricots from our trees. My grandmother would prepare the best apricot jam in the whole world! Now I live on the east coast and I miss the fresh apricots that I grew up with, especially my grandmother's jam so I was wondering if anyone has a recipe for apricot jam that might still be good even if I'm not picking my own fresh apricots. Thanks, Jordan K."

Mary T. responded with this:
"Apricot jam is the favorite of everyone in my family and I always use this same easy recipe:
Ingredients:
8 cups fresh apricots - peeled, pitted, and crushed
6 cups white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
Directions:
Mix apricots and lemon juice in a large pot; add sugar. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook and stir until apricot mixture thickens, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat (skim foam if necessary.
Ladle hot jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of space on top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids and screw on rings.
Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2-inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 15 minutes.
Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area."
------------
10. A vintage recipe request from a reader:
"Hi Phil, I love reading the newsletter. When I was a little girl, my mother used to make something she called a "sandwich cake". It looked like a layer cake but it was actually full of various layers of thinly sliced meats and lots of other things that I can't remember. I was wondering if anyone else remembers something like this. Thank you, Janet C."

As with collectibles, people also have very strong feelings about foods from their past. Sometimes these special recipes get lost. This section is to help people who are looking for lost recipes from their past. If you submit a request, please include the geographical region where you tasted the recipe.
--
If you can help this reader with this recipe, please forward it to phil@bignews.biz .

HIDDEN TREASURES OF EAST TEXAS
http://www.tias.com/stores/huntoldtreasure/
We specialize finding treasures from the past. We focus on furniture (Victorian - Retro), Pottery, Glass, Paper Collectibles, Jewelry, Dinnerware and old books.

LAKEOUTPOST COLLECTIBLES
http://www.tias.com/stores/lakeoutpost/
Welcome to Lake Outpost Collectibles! We specialize in uniqueness. We love to bring unusual pieces to the marketplace. Our store carries new to vintage collectibles. We guarantee your satisfaction!

MORE OF THE RIGHT STUFF
http://www.tias.com/stores/deugley/
I'm new to TIAS & will work harder to earn your business! Please come & visit. Specialties include books, limited edition plates, pewter gifts, snow globes, music boxes and much more! 14 day money back guarantee, Paypal, VISA & Mastercard.

H&H ANTIQUES
http://www.tias.com/stores/cobstaff/
We present an interesting selection of antiques, collectibles and decorator items for almost any taste. We have almost 30 years experience in the industry, so please look around and enjoy your visit with us.

SPUTNIK SHOP
http://www.tias.com/stores/southwb/
Eclectic pieces from the late 1800's-modern era.
Welcome to My Shop. I have been an antique and vintage jewelry dealer online for nearly 15 years. I guarantee complete customer satisfaction with my 7 day return policy. Thank You for Shopping!!

-------------

12. Helpful Resources:
a) Find an antiques or collectibles club. Nearly 2000 different clubs listed. Take a look at: http://www.tias.com/cgi-bin/clubs.cgi
b) What's it worth? Try Kovels' free online price guide to over 600,000 antiques and collectibles. It can be found online at http://www.kovels.com
c) Make money with your Web site. Join the TIAS.com affiliate program today. Go to http://www.tias.com/affiliates/
--------------------------------------------------------